White Out
by SmileCauseItsWorthIt
Summary: It was just supposed to be a fun trip for a Christmas tree... How did it end up like this? NO SLASH.
1. Chapter 1: The Accident

**Disclaimer: _We can make a beautiful Christmas. We can make the world shine bright. As long as friends and family are with us, Every star will shine tonight. _What's that? I don't own it? Dang... Well here's my little frolic with the characters! **

"Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away," Carlos happily, and loudly, sings with the radio from her place in the back seat. Kendall rolls his eyes at his younger friend's antics from his spot in the driver's seat while his other best friend, James, just laughs and starts singing along, relishing in his knowledge that it's annoying Kendall to no end. The trio had gone out to find a Christmas tree for Logan's apartment, though he didn't know it yet. His dad was putting in extra hours at the factory he worked at and couldn't a fford one, so the boys thought it would be a good surprise. Hard times had hit Logan's family since his mom's death at the end of the summer, so everyone was helping out however they could.

"Oh, will you just shut up!" Kendall says to the passengers in his vintage beaten up, blue truck, but they know he isn't really mad. The sun had started its descent and the clouds promised a snow storm that night. The two share a smirk, but cease their singing.

Suddenly, a black truck appears behind them, approaching quickly behind them. James puts down his window to wave them past, but the car makes no move to go around. They are on a rural road in the middle of nowhere, a person can stand in one spot and see for miles, and at this point, no cars can be seen come towards them.

"Dude, speed up or pull over, these guys aren't moving," James instructs, starting to get nervous. _What the heck is going on? _He thinks. Kendall looks in his rear view mirror and sees his friend his right, so he increases his speed; surely they wouldn't be hit.

This is then refuted when the truck slams into the back, the door to the bed of Kendall's truck denting from the force. Carlos, who had long since gone silent and pale, grabs his head from where it bumped the roof. _Maybe they should've put seatbelts on._ The boys in the front share a wide-eyed look of disbelief. James then sticks his head out the still open window, trying to get a look at what's going on while Kendall glues his eyes to the road ahead once more, struggling to keep the car going straight. Icy roads aren't helping his venture. The black truck slams into theirs at a bend in the road, causing Kendall to swerve off the road and onto a small hill. The car flies into the air and lands flips on its roof, knocking all passengers unconscious. All windows are broken and none of the occupants are completely in the car anymore. Kendall his on his back, half out his window, Carlos in a similar position out of his, and James is nowhere near them.

Carlos wakes first after a matter of seconds. He is miraculously uninjured, save for a few bruises and small scratches; sitting up causes the world to spin for a moment too, but it passes quickly. Brushing the crystals of glass from his coat, he surveys the world around him, but then his eyes fall on Kendall. He crawls over the roof-now the floor- to him.

"Kendall, Kendall? Kendall, please wake up!" he says, repeating his name over and over, becoming progressively louder and more frantic. He's their leader, without him, what was he supposed to do? Carlos would call 9-1-1, but he had left his cell phone at home that morning. It hadn't seemed like a big deal at the time, but now it made the situation even worse. Carlos jolts out of his inner-musings on his own forgetfullness when he hears a groan from the opposite side of the truck. He scrambles over Kendall, mindful of his injuries, and runs around to it, only to be met by a gruesome site. He haults suddenly in shock and disgust. Carlos sees James in a position no one should have to be in. He has a gash on his head, a bloody nose, various cuts and bruises, but the worst of it: his left leg is pinned under the car.

**AN: Just a taste of what's to come. Review and let me know what you think! By the way, this whole thing is written out so expect semi-regular updates. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Waking

**Disclaimer: I don't own!**

_He sees James in a position no one should have to be in. He has a gash on his head, a bloody nose, various cuts and bruises, but the worst of it: his left leg is pinned under the car._

"James? Jay! C'mon open your eyes," he yells. Carlos goes to pat his face, but is afraid to hurt him further. The boy in question slowly opens his eyes at the voice; it echoes around in his head and he thinks may if he obeys, it will stop. It doesn't. The next thing he knows, he's engulfed in a big, warm bear hug. "Oh, thank God! Come one we have to get you out of here, we have to help Kendall!"

James blinks slowly, his memory coming back to him. He suddenly remembers and sits up, his back protesting the movement. After hissing in pain, he realizes that he can't feel his leg. His eyes trail down his jeans and sees that it disappears under the car just below his knee. Futilely, he tries to wedge his fingers under the car and lift, but there is no change. In a fit of frustration he slams his hand onto the car.

"I can't! I'm stuck!" The two are silent for a moment after his outburst, unsure how to proceed. Suddenly, they hear an engine, it's the same rumbling that belonged to the car that did this to them. "Carlos, go hide now! Go!"

He wordlessly follows his orders, diving behind large, albeit half dead, bush. James grabs a flashlight and two water bottles that were thrown from the truck bed over to him before going limp, feigning unconsciousness; obviously these people weren't coming back to help them. This crash was intentional.

James's hunch proves to be right. Three men dressed in black and wearing ski masks run out of the car towards the wreck. In record timing they pick up all that was in the truck- flashlights, backpacks packed for a camping trip over Christmas break, a cooler of water bottles, Kendall's hunting gun, the extra gas can, and more- before stripping the boys of their winter coats, hats, and gloves. By taking the coats, the eighteen-year-olds no longer had cell phones, wallets, or a manner of heat. They left as quickly as they came and all is silent once more.

"Carlos!" James yells out signaling the all-clear. Refusing to believe that he's trapped, he gives his leg another tug before falling back onto the dead grass, sighing in defeat. "Go help Kendall. I can't move."

Still in shock from the whole ordeal, Carlos follows the given order. He had lived his entire life in a small town, never going more than 50 miles away, and while he knew of the horrors of the world, he never thought something like _this_ would happen to _them,_ especially _here._ Sure, he planned on being like his dad and becoming a cop someday, but that was years from now. His life was never supposed to be put at risk, and not even seriously in the future, which is the good part of a small, safe Minnesota town after all. The worst that was supposed to happen to them are hockey accidents and injuries from stupid stunts. He and his friends were never meant to be in this situation; Kendall shouldn't be unconscious and James shouldn't have a trail of blood making its way down the right side of his face. Carlos fleetingly wishes that Logan is there with him, he'd know what to do; he's the smart one after all. He soon banishes that thought; he couldn't deal with another possibly injured friend.

"Kendall?" Carlos asks softly, tapping his face. Kendall finally blinks, much to his relief; he looked around slowly before his green eyes settle on Carlos's face.

"Carlos, are you okay?" Kendall says quickly.

"Yeah," he says, and then helps Kendall to sit up. He grunts, hoisting himself up to a sitting position. The younger grabs the elder's left arm as he braces his right one on the edge of the car, bringing himself to his feet. Kendall almost falls once more, his ankle suddenly giving out and flaring in a white hot pain. "Ow! Crap, I think I busted my ankle!"

"Okay, well we have to get around the truck. Let's just take it slow." The pair does just that, Kendall limping heavily, and Carlos supporting what weight he can. The taller of the two stops short when he sees the position his best friend his in.

"I'm okay! Just stuck…" James is quick to reassure at Kendall's wide eyes, full of panic and worry.

"Well c'mon let's get this off you!" Kendall responds, ready to lift the truck; always the leader and always the one in charge.

"No! You could hurt yourself more or make it worse! We can't do this ourselves," Carlos shouts. He has enough foresight for that, one of his brothers, the oldest, is a doctor and taught him enough to know that moving an injured person can be dangerous.

"Well maybe you could dig me out, that could work."

"Yeah, let me get the shovel. It was in the bed of the truck."

"Kendall? It's gone. Those guys? They um… they stole them. They took everything," Carlos says hesitantly, afraid that saying it out loud will make it all true. Kendall sighs and drops his face into his hand, thinking: _we are so screwed._

Carlos begins to pace as Kendall kneels next to immobile his friend, inspecting the damage. They both start to shiver and cross their arms, feeling the effects of the cold without their coats. James puts the hood on his thin sweatshirt up as Kendall wraps his flannel shirt and puffy vest more tightly around himself. They begin to talk quietly, trying to think of a plan.

"How's your leg?"

"Don't know, I can't feel anything," James says sullenly. It's worse than Kendall thought, he should at least be feeling some pain; this means that the blood flow is cut off from the bottom portion of his leg; without proper medical attention soon, it might eventually need to be amputated. Kendall vows to himself that he won't let that happen, James is his best friend. Not only did he have big dreams and ambitions, but his parents had recently divorced; his father leaving his mother for someone fifteen years younger. The stress of it all had been getting to James, yet another reason for this trip. When the boys were seven they made a promise to help each other out, no matter what. This included helping to succeed their dreams, to ace homework, and to heal injuries. James couldn't do any of that if he wasn't alive, but he having only one leg would still make things tremendously difficult. Kendall stirs out of his thoughts when he notices that James's shivering is becoming increasingly violent.

"Oh man, the ground's frozen solid. It's sucking the heat right out of you!" Kendall declares, catching Carlos's attention. Even with his thermal parka, he feels the biting cold air too.

"Well why can't we build a fire?" The boy suggests.

"Smell the gas fumes? A fire will light them and blow us all up. We have to get back to town," James replies bluntly, his voice beginning to shake as he shudders.

"Alright I'm gonna try and go," Kendall replies, standing. He promptly falls as a result of his bad ankle.

"No you can't on that ankle. I'll go," Carlos states. He has an air of confidence that had previously been lacking. Now that he knows what to do, he can help and be calm.

"No! You can't those guys still might be out there!" the leader of the group counters.

"No, no; they went the other way… Look Carlos, we are about five miles away. Do you think you can walk that far?" James says and at his nod he continues, "Okay, you're going to head south on this road, that's left, and keep going. You going to take your first left, second right, and then another left and right. Then you should see a sign. You got that?"

"First left, second right, left, and right. I got it!" he says. They have to trust him and he knows that he can do this; he has to.

"No! It's too dangerous!" Kendall said, still protesting the idea.

"What are our other options?" Carlos asks calmly, knowing that he is right. "No supplies, no fire. One of us has to go and neither of _you_ can."

"Alright, fine! Fine. But please be careful," Kendall finally says, giving him a one-armed hug and praying that he makes it back alright.

"Okay I threw a flashlight and some water by that bush. You're going to need them, especially when it gets dark." Carlos walks over and pick up the provisions, tossing a water bottle to Kendall.

"Okay stay on the shoulder the whole time. And if you see any headlights or hear any engines, run and hide, okay?" Kendall says, still worrying.

"I'm going to be fine, I promise," Carlos reassures him; with that, he runs off down the road towards salvation.

**AN: Thanks for the reviews so far, keep em coming! Oh and I should note that this is loosely based of an episode of Jericho, but it will stray eventually. Trust me. And quick question: should I include Carlos's actions while getting help, or just focus on Kendall and James agnst? Leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Desparation

**Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing in the BTR sandbox.**

_"I'm going to be fine, I promise," Carlos reassures him; with that, he runs off down the road towards salvation._

A few hours later, the boys are still in the same position; James lying on the ground and significantly colder than Kendall. The free teen grabs some hay from the abandoned field near them and puts it under his friend's head, trying to make things a little better; however, the sky indicates a coming snow storm. Kendall can try all he wants, but he can't change the weather.

Needless to say, James is cold, beyond cold in fact. His bones feel as solid as ice, his muscles tense, and his skin chapped and stretched thin. He has reached the point where every nerve in his body was on edge from the cold. They are jumping and moving, giving him waves of chills, the cold pulsating through his body. He is positive that he'd never be warm again, that he would die out here, pinned under a truck with his best friend by his side. He doesn't _want_ to die, especially not like this, but he thinks that it's going to happen. James's arms are wrapped around his stomach in an attempt to curl up and keep warm, but with little success. As he holds his ribs, he tries breathing deeply, but finds it hard to do because of the frigid air. His breath came out is shaking gasps, his voice trembling with it.

"C'mon this isn't so bad, right? We've been through worse!" Kendall says with a fake cheerfulness, trying to make the situation better. "Remember the time we got stuck on the roof of Katherine's market in the lightening storm?"

"Yeah, w-we were so afraid the l-lightening was g-going to blow up the f-fireworks," James says shakily, trying to pulling his sleeves over his chapped hands with stiff fingers in an attempt to warm them. He appreciated his friend's effort immensely and offers him a smile, trying to appease his fears. It ends up looking more like a grimace.

"You were screaming like a little girl!" he says good-naturedly. "You wanted jump off the roof!"

"Th-that was you! Your v-voice hadn't ch-changed yet."

"Oh please, I had you beat by like six months!" The two laugh until James is overtaken by another violent chill, causing him to moan. "Here drink some water." He pulls the bottle out of his pocket, only to see its solid state. "It's… frozen right through."

"What? Oh God," James says. If they hadn't realized how cold it was before, they did now. "Look Kendall, the sun is s-setting. I saw an abandoned c-cabin about a half mi-mile down the-the road. You n-need to get inside b-before it gets dar-dark and starts sno-o-owing."

"What? No! I'm not leaving you!"

"W-we can't b-both freeze to d-death out here."

"Carlos's coming back!"

"But w-when?"

"He's only been gone like two hours! It'll take a little while to get there and back. He is gonna find someone and bring help, I know it," Kendall responds. James was the one to convince him that he could do it after all.

"Well we d-don't have 'a while.' It's gonna get dark s-soon, you need to g-_go_!"

Kendall hardens his resolve, he isn't about to leave his best friend since pre-school out to die. He takes of his vest and drapes it over James like a blanket as he sits next to him; the latter doesn't much fight left in him. Already his eyes are closing and his skin is becoming more and more pale, almost deathly so. "No, I'm not going anywhere. You wouldn't leave me and I'm not leaving you."

The boys remain silent as the sun slips below the horizon. The flaming ball may have been thousands of miles away, but it was their only source of heat, without it, they aren't sure how long they can hold on. The friends keep up their quiet state for a while, each left to their own thoughts. Kendall worries about James and Carlos, hoping that both will be alright. James just hopes no one dies tonight, but sees the odds in his favor falling. It isn't long until all he can focus on his the bone-chilling cold. Kendall soon decides that they should keep talking to stay awake- and alive.

"Hey Jay?" Kendall says as he stares up into the night sky. When he is met with no response, he glances down at his friend, only to find his eyes closed and skin pale. If it weren't for the rise and fall of his chest, Kendall would've thought James was dead. He pats the prone teen's face softly and says, "James, c'mon you can't fall asleep! You gotta stay up... Oh man, you stopped shivering."

Kendall wasn't quite sure what that meant, but he knew it wasn't good. James just knew that he was cold and wanted to sleep.

"Hey man, c'mon you gotta talk to me. Here sit up against me," Kendall says, trying to keep calm. His larger frame easily supports James's limp body. "Talk to me buddy, come on, you can do it. Stay awake."

"I'm sorry," James mumbles, almost incoherently. "I'm sorry."

"What? What are you sorry for? Don't say that, it's not like your gonna die."

"I'm sorry for all the times I screwed up, all the times we almost got killed, and I'm sorry for this. It's my fault." The small speech cost James a lot of energy, making him almost close his eyes again.

"Hey, hey now, stay awake. You have _nothing_ to be sorry for. Half the time it was my fault and we always came out on top. You screwed up sometimes, yeah, but so did I. We always had each other's back. And in no way is _this_ your fault."

"But-"

"No buts, you're my brother, man. We may not be related or have the same parents, but you _are_ my brother. Remember that stupid thing we said in middle school 'brother from another mother?' It may have been dumb, but it's true. You're and the guys are siblings to me as much as Katie is. Okay? So no one's dying tonight, especially you. I won't let you," Kendall says carefully. Everything he said is true. James lives a tough life and blames himself for a lot of it, but none of it is his fault.

"What about that time… I left? Huh? You wouldn't talk to me… for a week."

Kendall thinks about this statement for a moment. Back when they were sixteen and even bigger hotheads than they were now, James had tried running away. His mom talked about leaving again and he suspected his dad was getting into some trouble with an old "business." He knew the signs by then. James decided that he had had enough, packed a bag, and left. The police finally found him in a filthy motel in Chicago, a hot bed for drugs and sex. What bothered Kendall was that James hadn't come to him for help, told him where he was going, or that he was even leaving. He hadn't turned to anybody, just up and left like he didn't care. That was the scariest week in Kendall's life and then James turned up perfectly fine and unscathed. When he was finally brought back home, the runaway had tried acting like nothing had happened. After both had time to cool down, they met up and reconciled. Loud, hurtful words and a few punches were exchanged, but they made it through the entire fiasco.

"You know I forgave you a long time ago for that. I wish you never had done it, but I know why you did. It's all okay now, and it all _will_ be okay. Listen to me, alright?"

James is silent for a moment, blinking slowly. Then he suddenly changes the subject, either forgetting what they were talking about or feeling sufficiently forgiven.

"W-we never got… got to see the world," he says weakly and slowly. His words are beginning to slur, betraying how week and tires he feels.

"You know what? We still are going to get to. Man, when we get out of this we are getting the first plane to Los Angeles and drinking in the warm," Kendall replies, glad that the heavier conversation is over, but James is still talking like he's dying. "We are going to get you famous! And we're gonna learn how to surf and sleep on the beach and eat lobster… and we're gonna hit on blondes in bikinis."

On any other day James would waggle his eyebrows teasingly and then "remind" him of his girlfriend, Maggie. But today he just shudders and buries himself further into Kendall's grasp, trying to keep warm. James is blinking heavily trying to stay awake and focus, but he's finding it hard. He hates this sensation, his mind feels like it's filled with cotton balls and he's moving in slow motion.

"Let me- let me lay down," James demands, now only focused on falling asleep.

"Jay, no-"

"Please-"

"C'mon-

"Let me-

"Stay with me, man!"

"Lay down."

The two are talking over each other at this point; however, James is running out of strength, so when Kendall tugs him back up, he gives into the embrace once more. Kendall wraps his arms around his friend, moving them up and down to keep him warm, but he's getting tired himself; he knows he can't fall asleep though, neither of them can.

"Stay with me, James. Come on, man. Please," Kendall practically begs as James's eyes flutter. The injured one starts mumbling incoherently, beginning to become delirious. As a single tear makes its way down Kendall's cheek he repeats in a whisper: "Please."

**AN: And so the story continues. Next chapter will be Carlos-centered, and Logan may be making an appearance. Let me know what you thought, what you expect, and what you want in a handy-dandy review. They are like early Christmas presents and make me exceedingly happy.**


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